Brad Lidge, who has been on the disabled list all season with elbow and shoulder problems, threw a 35-pitch bullpen session yesterday and is scheduled to do so again tomorrow, at which point the Phillies may clear him to begin a minor-league rehab assignment.
Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the rehab stint could start as soon as Monday, but notes that the Phillies may ask Lidge to make 8-12 appearances before rejoining the bullpen.
That seems like an awful lot of work in the minors unless he looks terrible early on and for his part Lidge told Salisbury that he’s aiming to return “sometime between the All-Star break and the end of July.”
Charlie Manuel has stated previously that Ryan Madson would remain the closer even after Lidge is back, but now Madson is also on the DL with a hand injury and those plans could potentially change if Lidge beats him back from the DL and thrives right away. In the meantime Antonio Bastardo will continue to fill in as closer.
